Native American Law Report articles from December 2004

Native American Law Report archives from December 2004

Thousands more Osage Indians.(Slants & Trends)(archaic law amendment)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... THOUSANDS MORE OSAGE INDIANS may be able to participate in their tribe's governance matters, now that U.S. legislators and the Osage Nation have managed to rework an archaic law. Under the 98-year-old law, only those who inherit a mineral...

Tribes may be the benefactors.(Slants & Trends)(Federal Communications Commission fined Qwest Communications International Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... TRIBES MAY BE THE BENEFACTORS of a move by the federal government to hold a telephone company accountable for not doing enough to promote tribal telephone programs. Under a consent decree last month, the Federal Communications Commission...

Two states appeal to high court, seek to tax tribal motor fuel sales.(U.S. Supreme Court)
December 1, 2004... The Supreme Court must decide if it will hear important cases on whether states are allowed to tax Indian tribes for fuel they sell on their reservations. The states of Idaho and Kansas last month filed petitions with the high court asking...

Appeals court overturns judge's order to shut down department computers.(Department of the Interior)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A federal district court judge was wrong when he ordered the shutdown of some Interior Department computers without giving government officials a chance to prove they had improved the system, according to a Dec. 3 ruling by the D.C. Circuit...

N.D. Indians appeal ruling on fuel tax.(North Dakota)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Late last month, members of North Dakota Indian tribes argued before state Supreme Court justices that the state is illegally taxing tribal members for motor fuel bought on Indian reservations. A lower court ruled in January that the...

B.C. failed to consult with aboriginals over logging plans on disputed lands.(First Nations)
December 1, 2004... In a momentous case over aboriginal consultation, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled last month that the provincial governments, not just federal governments, must consult with First Nations Aboriginals before allowing logging on lands that are...

Lawsuit filed against D.C. lobbyist over alleged overcharging of tribe.(Capitol Hill)
December 1, 2004... Ending months of speculation, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana last month filed a $32 million lawsuit against its former lobbyist and public relation consultant, citing fraud and negligence. The tribe sued Jack Abramoff and public relations...

Boston mayor seeks to repeal old law discriminating against American Indians.(Thomas Menino)
December 1, 2004... In a symbolic move to erase discrimination from the city's lawbooks, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is calling for the repeal of an archaic law that prohibits Native Americans from entering the city, according to a Nov. 24 statement from the...

Oklahoma tribe appeals court decision to prohibit casino on out-of-state land.(Gaming Commission)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... An Oklahoma tribe is appealing a decision by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) that forbids the tribe from running a casino in Kansas City, Kan. In August 2003, the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma opened up the Seventh Street Casino...

State must negotiate gaming compact with federal Indian tribe, court rules.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
December 1, 2004... Northern Arapaho Tribe v. State of Wyoming U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Cir., No. 02-8026 (November 23, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that if a state allows casino-style gaming for social and nonprofit purposes, the state...

Federal appeals court rejects quest by Delaware tribe for recognition.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
December 1, 2004... Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma v. Norton U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Cir., No. 03-5055 (November 16, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that the Delaware Tribe of Indians is not a federally recognized tribe because it was...

Corporation acquired by Indian tribe had no sovereign immunity from suit.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(DJ Hosts Inc.)
December 1, 2004... McNally CPA's & Consultants, S.C. v. DJ Hosts, Inc. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, Dist. 4, No. 03-1159 (November 24, 2004) A Wisconsin court has ruled that when an Indian tribe acquired all the stock of a corporation, tribal...

Health clinic employees not shielded by federal tort claims act, court says.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
December 1, 2004... Woodruff v. Covington U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Cir., No. 02-7040 (November 17, 2004) A federal appeals court has ruled that physician employees of an Indian health council were not federal employees and not protected by the...

Gaming company did not exert unlawful pressure in loan deal.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
December 1, 2004... Catskill Development, L.L.C. v. Park Place Entertainment Corp. U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y., No. 00 Civ. 8660 (November 15, 2004) A federal district court has ruled that a gaming company did not exert unlawful economic...

Court: tribe had criminal jurisdiction over non-member Native American.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
December 1, 2004... Gillette v. Marcellais U.S. District Court, D.N.D. No. A4-04-123 (November 22, 2004) A federal district court has ruled that a tribal court had criminal jurisdiction over a non-member Native American. A 1990 amendment to the...

Late request was 'good cause' for refusing to transfer case.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... In the Matter of Children of C.V. Court of Appeals of Minnesota, No. A04-441 (November 9, 2004) A Minnesota court has ruled that a late request constituted "good cause" under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) for refusing to...

Fraud in 1773 land extinguishment is not subject to judicial review.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)
December 1, 2004... The Delaware Nation v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania U.S. District Court, E.D. Pa., No. 04-CV-166 (November 30, 2004) A federal district court has ruled that once aboriginal title to land has been extinguished by a sovereign...

First woman to serve as chief justice, attorney general of Navajo nation dies.(Indian Case Law Abstracts)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
December 1, 2004... The first woman ever to serve as chief justice in the Navajo Nation Supreme Court has died. Claudeen Bates-Arthur was 62 when she passed away, following a long fight with pancreatic cancer. She died at Fort Defiance Indian Health Service...

Historical court re-examines murder conviction of Indian Chief.(Court of 'Inquiry)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A Historical Court of Inquiry and Justice in Washington state recently reviewed a murder case that took place almost 150 years ago, involving the former chief of the Nisqually Indian Tribe. Chief Leschi had been convicted of murder in 1857...